Showing posts with label Author Q&A. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Author Q&A. Show all posts
Title | The Silk Weaver
Author | Liz Trenow
Publisher | Pan Macmillan
Purchase | Amazon
Book Summary
A novel of illicit romance set
against the world of the silk trade in London
Anna Butterfield moves from her Suffolk country home to her uncle's
house in London, to be introduced to society. A chance encounter with a local
silk weaver, French immigrant Henri, throws her from her privileged upbringing
to the darker, dangerous world of London's silk trade. Henri is working on his
'master piece' to make his name as a master silk weaver; Anna, meanwhile, is
struggling against the constraints of her family and longing to become an
artist. Henri realizes that Anna's designs could lift his work above the
ordinary, and give them both an opportunity for freedom…
This is a charming story of illicit romance, set against the world of
the burgeoning silk trade in eighteenth-century Spitalfields - a time of
religious persecution, mass migration, racial tension and wage riots, and very
different ideas of what was considered 'proper' for women.
Today I am very happy to be handing my blog over to Liz Trenow for a short Q&A. I am sure you will find her answers fascinating, and even more so be urged to purchase a copy of the book for yourself and devour every page. Enjoy!
1. Please tell me a little about yourself, Liz
I worked as a journalist with regional and national newspapers and on BBC radio and television news, before turning my hand to fiction rather late in life!
I was born and brought up in Sudbury, Suffolk next to the mill which is the oldest silk weaving company in Britain and one of just three still operating today. I still live in East Anglia with my artist husband, we have two grown up daughters and, just this year, a granddaughter!
My first three books have also been published in a number of other countries and in translation: The Last Telegram, The Forgotten Seamstress (a New York Times bestseller) and The Poppy Factory.
2. Where did you get the inspiration for the characters in your novel?
My heroine, Anna, is inspired by the eminent silk designer, Anna Maria Garthwaite, who lived and worked in a house just a few doors away from where my family’s silk weaving business started in the 1700s. I was intrigued to think that they must have known and worked with her.
Anna Maria was one of the most celebrated textile designers of the eighteenth century, her silks were worn by royalty and nearly a thousand of her designs are in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Yet no-one knows how she learned her craft or how an unmarried middle-aged woman managed to develop such a successful business in a male dominated industry. It is this mystery that sparked the idea for the novel.
The boy she falls in love with, Henri, is a Huguenot (Protestant) whose family fled persecution in France by the Catholic king. Many Huguenots made perilous journeys in small boats across the Channel to reach safety in England. I became fascinated by the parallels with what is happening to refugees today and wanted to highlight them in this novel.
3. The Silk Weaver is set in in 1760s Spitalfields - are there any remaining features from that time left in the area?
It’s a wonderful area, still full of history. Many of the houses are just as they would have been back then and although the market building was demolished and replaced with a modern structure a few years ago, the wonderful Christ Church still stands proud over the landscape. The French Church Henri went to is still there, too. Since then, it has been a synagogue and then a mosque, reflecting the different waves of immigrants the area has been home to.
4. How did you go about researching the novel?
I did masses of research, especially as before this I knew very little about the 18th century, and I loved every moment of it.
I spent nearly a year visiting museums, art galleries, libraries and Georgian houses, as well as reading very widely. Of course I also spent a lot of time in Spitalfields itself, at Christ Church (where my ancestors were baptised, married and buried) and other venues and museums in the area. It was also a great excuse to visit Georgian towns like Bath again, to get my head into the era.
For a whole year I read nothing but books about 18th century London and novels either written in, or set in, the period!
5. If you could be one fictional character who would you choose?
Superwoman / man!
I’d love to be able to fly, save people, sort out the world’s problems, and come back to my job as a journalist after lunch.
Liz Trenow is the author of three previous historical novels: The Last Telegram, The Forgotten Seamstress and The Poppy Factory. Liz's family have been silk weavers for nearly three hundred years, and she grew up in the house next to the mill in Suffolk, England, which still operates today, weaving for top-end fashion houses and royal commissions. This unique history inspired her first two novels, and this, her fourth novel.
Liz is a former journalist who spent fifteen years on regional and national newspapers, and on BBC radio and television news, before turning her hand to fiction. She lives in East Anglia, UK, with her artist husband, and they have two grown-up daughter.
Hi Gorgeous Reader!
Today it is my stop on the Blog Tour for One Last Summer at Hideaway Bay by Zoe Cook. I have an amazing Q&A with Zoe for you to read, but first let me share with you how gorgeous the cover is and what the book is about.
Lucy, hi. It’s Tom.
All I really want is
for readers to enjoy the story. If they happen to want to book a
holiday to Cornwall at the end of the book then I’ll consider that
a job well done. I grew up in Cornwall and it’s one of my favourite
places in the world. I wanted to set a book there partly so I could
imagine myself there for hours at a time while writing, so I really
hope I’ve captured even just a little of it’s very special beauty
in the book. I also hope that readers get a little swept away in the
romance of the book, it’s the kind of love story I grew up wishing
would happen to me!
Today it is my stop on the Blog Tour for One Last Summer at Hideaway Bay by Zoe Cook. I have an amazing Q&A with Zoe for you to read, but first let me share with you how gorgeous the cover is and what the book is about.
Lucy, hi. It’s Tom.
How are you? It’s been a while. I’ve been meaning to get in touch but it’s hard to know how to after so much time. I hear you’re doing really well up there. I knew you would be.
You should come here, you know, back to Hideaway bay. Come and see everyone, see how little it’s all changed. Feel the sand between your toes, the Cornish sea breeze on your face. When the sun hits the surf in that way it does, it’s as magical as ever.
That’s why I’m writing to you, actually. I want to get the gang back together again, one last time before…well…just one last time. You should come too. The four of us, a summer on the beach, like old times. We all want you here for it. I want you here for it. It’s been so long since I saw you.
I still think about you.
Tom
Awwww, doesn't that sound really beautiful? And intriguing! Sounds like it could have the potential to be a bit of a weepy, so i'm going to make sure I have the tissues to hand - just in case.
Right, well, I can't contain my excitement any longer, so let's go and meet up with Zoe and have a chat!
What inspired you
to write this book?
Work as a TV producer on Richard & Judy’s Book Club on Channel
4 involved selecting the books for their lists, and each year we had
to choose eight summer reads. These were the books that we thought
people should take away on holiday, or could at least read on the
tube and imagine they were away on holiday – and I fell in love
with these sunny, fun, fast-paced stories. I had an idea for a love
story set in Cornwall for a long time before I managed to actually
start writing anything, and the final push for me to get typing was
actually meeting the legendary and much missed Jackie Collins for an
interview for The TV Book Club in Beverly Hills. Her enthusiasm,
passion for writing, her inimitable writing style, and her absolutely
fabulous presence when we met really inspired me to finally start
writing my own book.
Who did you write
One Last Summer at Hideaway Bay for?
I think I wrote this
book for a younger me. I grew up on a (probably rather unhealthy)
diet of Dawson’s Creek, The OC and Disney films – it’s really
no wonder my ideas about romance were so out of kilter with reality.
I’ve always loved escapist, aspirational stories. I love delving
into new places with characters you grow to love. Most of all, I’m
really interested in those formative years in your twenties when
you’re chucked out into the world after education and finally have
to figure out who you want to be, and how to do it. I wanted to write
a book that brought together an amazing location, Cornwall, with a
coming of age drama, all set across one, unforgettable, summer.
What do you hope
readers will take from One Last Summer at Hideaway Bay?
All I really want is
for readers to enjoy the story. If they happen to want to book a
holiday to Cornwall at the end of the book then I’ll consider that
a job well done. I grew up in Cornwall and it’s one of my favourite
places in the world. I wanted to set a book there partly so I could
imagine myself there for hours at a time while writing, so I really
hope I’ve captured even just a little of it’s very special beauty
in the book. I also hope that readers get a little swept away in the
romance of the book, it’s the kind of love story I grew up wishing
would happen to me!
Do you almost
view Cornwall as a character in the book?
As well as being a
beautiful place, for me Cornwall in the book represents the ‘home’
we all have to leave behind – whether physically or metaphorically,
at some point in life when we are forced to grow up. For Lucy at the
start of the book, home has become somewhere to forget, and to move
on from. But as the story progresses and she’s drawn back there she
realises that you can’t ever really escape who you truly are, and
part of that is built on where you come from. In that sense, I hope
Cornwall adds a bit more than just sand and waves to the book, for me
it is definitely a defining part of the story.
The book begins
in London, in a very different world to Cornwall, did you enjoy being
able to write about a city too?
I’ve lived and
worked in London since leaving university and I love it. I also think
the contrast between Lucy’s two worlds in the book help us to see
how torn and tormented she is. A bit like Lucy, I think while
there’ll always be a part of my heart that belongs to Cornwall,
London has claimed its own piece now too, so it was great to be able
to write a bit of London into the story at the beginning.
Do you see more
stories set in Hideaway bay?
I’d definitely
like to return to Hideaway Bay, and there’s plenty more drama
waiting there I think!
Thank you so much Zoe for stopping by and having a chat with us all here at A Page of Fictional Love, I am so thrilled to have hosted for you. I wish you all the success with your book, and I can't wait to see what dramas unfold in the future! xxx
Ok, so, i'll let you catch your breath there whilst I share with you the rest of the stops on the tour, take some time and head over to the blogs and see what's lined up there. And be sure to come back soon, for more reviews and exclusives!
HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY KERRY!!!!
Yes, it's Publication day for Kerry Fisher who has written this GORGEOUS Must-Have Summer Read. It's the day when we bloggers get excited about, and the day that authors and publishers go absolutely crazy with excitement! You see, this gorgeous looking book and MUST NOT MISS read hits the shelves and then 'accidentally' falls into your basket when shopping. We love those accidents!
Yes, it's Publication day for Kerry Fisher who has written this GORGEOUS Must-Have Summer Read. It's the day when we bloggers get excited about, and the day that authors and publishers go absolutely crazy with excitement! You see, this gorgeous looking book and MUST NOT MISS read hits the shelves and then 'accidentally' falls into your basket when shopping. We love those accidents!
To celebrate, as well as there being stunning sunshine, there is going to be a HUGE twitter picnic which i'll be taking part in, Just head over to Twitter between 12pm-1pm and join in with #islandescape
Also, I have for you a very special interview with Kerry and I can't tell you how excited I am about hosting Kerry on Publication Day. So let's get this party started!!
It's
been such a long time since we caught up with you here on A Page of Fictional
Love. The last time we met up it was for a chat about your debut novel; The School Gate Survival Guide.
Thanks
so much for inviting me here. I’m so happy to be back!
I
loved that book as you know, and I couldn't wait for your next book. How long
did it take you to write The IslandEscape?
All
my books take roughly a year but I don’t get much done in the school holidays.
Despite the fact I instruct my kids not to disturb me, they float in and out
with ‘What’s for lunch?/Can you take me into town?/When I can I use your
computer?’
You're
back, thankfully, with a new summer read, TheIsland Escape. How does it feel to have your second book hitting the
shelves?
I
feel so lucky. And surprisingly, it’s much more enjoyable second time around. Last
year, I was so worried that I might let down all the people who’d shown great
faith in me, that I almost forgot to enjoy the moment.
The
book is set on an exotic island, what can you tell us about the setting and
location?
The Island Escape is set in Corsica and
Sardinia, and Surrey, which isn’t quite as exotic! I lived in Corsica teaching
English as part of my French degree when I was nineteen. Initially, I was
really homesick as I lived in a boarding school that catered for the children
from all the little mountain villages. When they went home at weekends, I was
just there on my own, which was really spooky! In the end, though, I made friends
in the village and discovered some wonderful unspoilt beaches and learnt to
windsurf and waterski.
Where
did your inspiration come from?
I
have a milestone birthday coming up next year and I’m lucky enough to have lots
of friends I’ve known for several decades. None of us have ended up with the
lives we thought we’d have (some have turned out better, some worse). It
started me thinking about how we have a certain idea of how our future will
turn out when we’re twenty, yet a decade or two later the landscape can look
entirely different. I suppose that’s one of the attractions of Facebook –
seeing if the most popular/prettiest/most intelligent person really did end up
the happiest.
Like
your last book, The Island Escape
contains an element of the school setting in the guise of Octavia, one of the
main characters, being a Nursery Manager. Why did you choose a similar work
environment?
I’m
drawn to writing about motherhood. I always want to portray the realities of
having children and the mixed – and sometimes unwelcome – emotions they can
arouse even in a parent who loves them beyond all measure. There’s so much
pressure in school for children to conform and it’s easy to feel criticised if
they – or their parents - are a bit unusual, so schools/nurseries are a great
environment for exploiting conflict in any story.
Where
does your inspiration for the characters come from?
All
my inspiration for characters comes from what I observe around me. I take tiny
bits of character traits I see in people (or myself!) and weave them into
complete people. Jonathan, Octavia’s rather dull husband, is obsessed with
rotating apples in the fruit bowl according to age. I’m embarrassed to say that
I get cross when my kids eat all the freshest fruit and leave a manky pear
rotting at the bottom!
The
novel is written from the perspective of two characters, Roberta and Octavia,
who are close friends. What was it like to write in this style?
I
loved it. I feel most comfortable writing in the first person and by doing it from
the perspective of two characters, I got to be privy to the machinations of two
minds, rather than just one. It does present a writing challenge, though, to
make the two characters instantly recognisable with different ‘voices’ and
attitudes.
Can
you briefly introduce us to Roberta and Octavia and maybe share a secret from
each character?
Roberta
grew up in an affluent household and is used to the finer things in life. Against
everyone’s wishes, she married Scott, who turned out to be a bully. He’s completely
drained her confidence. Secretly, she yearns to prove that she’s not just a
woman who can match a handbag to a pair of shoes, that she’s a capable,
intelligent woman who can stand on her own two feet. Octavia was a rebellious
and wild teenager, who’s ended up married to Jonathan. He used to embrace her
daredevil nature but over the years, her adventurous spirit has started to
irritate him. Her secret is that she still hankers after the ‘one that got
away’, a charismatic Corsican called Xavi.
The
cover says: 'What if there was somewhere you could disappear to?" - so to
answer your own question, what would be your escape?
I
lived in Florence for five years in my twenties and I still dream of a little
farmhouse in Tuscany, up on a hillside with a terrace, carafes of Chianti,
sunflowers and poppies.
When
you're not writing, how do you escape from life's twists and turns?
My
ridiculously naughty dog, a Labrador/Giant Schnauzer cross infuriates me and
makes me laugh in equal measure. We live on the South Downs in Surrey and I
walk her through gorgeous English countryside every day. Just seeing the
changing seasons relaxes me – at the moment all the bluebells are out, the
hawthorns are blossoming, the cowslips and violets are dotting the hill. I love
it.
If
you could eat an exotic meal on an island beach, what would it be and
why?
I’m
not fussy at all but I hate fish, so sadly, my fantasy of barbecuing a freshly
caught squid over a fire won’t ever come to pass. One of the things I loved so
much about living in Mediterranean countries was that you could taste the sun,
rather than the greenhouse, in the vegetables. Nothing beats a plate of
sun-ripened tomatoes, peppers and aubergines, drizzled with peppery olive oil,
rosemary focaccia and goat’s cheese…yum!
Can
you share a summer holiday memory of yours?
I
studied French and Italian at university and in the summers I used to au pair
for a lovely family in a tiny Italian village in Liguria. The first evening I
was there, when I didn’t know much more than ‘hello’ and ‘where’s the train
station?’, the mother left me in the village piazza with all the other young
people and basically said, ‘Look after her.’ It was terrifying at first but
they were so friendly to me. We used to spend every evening sitting in the
square – someone would get a guitar out and we’d all sit under the stars
singing ‘We Are The World’. So simple but so much fun.
If
you could meet a handsome exotic bookish hunk, what would he be like?
A
cross between Gerard Butler and Clive Owen!
Lastly,
are you planning on writing a third novel? Because I'm already eagerly awaiting
news of where you're going to take us next.
The
best advice I ever received from my author friends was to get writing the next
novel as soon as you get a publishing deal because those deadlines fly round.
So thankfully, I’ve already finished book three – basically, ‘What happens when
a secret you thought you and your family had buried bites you on the bottom a
few decades later’! I hope I’ve intertwined a serious subject with a witty look
at the challenges of parenting teens.
Thank
you so much for taking time out of your hectic promotions schedule to talk to
us about The Island Escape. I wish
you the very best success with it, and I will be doing everything I can to help
you easily secure that No1. Bestselling author's spot!
Thank
you so much for inviting me here again, Dawn, I really appreciate your support.
The
Island Escape is out now: http://amzn.to/1Oz0NkM
Please be sure to 'check-in' with the other gorgeous blogs taking part in the tour and stop by the Twitter Picnic if you can;
Hi there everyone,
As you may know, Carina publishes all over the world so we have authors from the UK and even as far as Australia! And I've got some fabulous Q&As with amazing Carina UK Authors. We've already received so many hits for the Q&A with Samantha Tonge and today we get to meet yet another fabulous Author.
Hosting the "Carina Catch Up" (which by the way, please use the HASHTAG #CarinaCatchUp if you are on Twitter and Social Media), is an author I've not had much awareness of ... that is until NOW! She is brilliant, and has written some pretty saucy books (See them here ), is a Bestselling Historical Romance author, which very much remind me of books my mum used to read.
Please welcome, Anabelle Bryant;
Hi, and welcome to A Page of Fictional Love. It's lovely to have
you here for a Q&A. I love being able to do these Q&As because we get
to chat with the author of books we love and we meet the real person behind the
words.
Congratulations on your published
novels; Being a published author must make you feel so excited?
Becoming published had
been a dream of mine for over a decade so finally realizing my heart’s wish was
amazing. I cried when I received my first contract and I rarely cry at
anything.
Can you remember the moment that you
discovered that you were going to be a published author?
I can see it in my mind perfectly.
I was reading my emails and almost deleted “the all-important life-changing email”
because I thought it was spam or an advertisement. I was rushing and almost
pressed delete, but something made me pause and then once I started reading my
heart began to race.
What is your experience of being an
author?
I love writing, but I’m
also an elementary teacher. Between teaching, writing, and life in general,
time is sparse. Add the layer of all time consuming promotion and I’m usually
dead tired by the end of the day. Lucky for me, I’d tried to become published
for so long, I had a few full length novels to reread, edit and submit while I
try desperately to balance life’s demands.
As someone who has written extremely
short stories, I know how difficult I find the process of writing to be when
you're trying to cram all your bursts of ideas in. How do you find the writing
process? Are there any tips you have on writing a better novel?
My advice is to let it
sleep while you sleep. In other words, whenever I feel trapped by my plot or
frustrated with my hero, I let the book rest and I do something different –
sometimes even sleep. When I wake up or return to my laptop, I often have a
better feel for the problem. As far as the writing process, I love the beginning
of a new novel. The first several chapters when the hero and heroine are
beginning their romance is the favorite part for me.
Can you share with us a typical
writing day for you?
Typical writing days are
Saturday and Sunday, otherwise during the week I only have an hour or less in
the evening. On the weekends, I’m up early and working social media while I
visit and revisit my manuscript. I don’t sit in front of my story for hours on
end unless I’m rereading or editing. When I write I’m definitely more hit and
run. Write a few pages, dabble in Twitter, write a few more, check out
Facebook. Lol.
Where did your inspiration for
writing come from?
I’m a certified word-nerd and proud
of it. I love words and am always up to play Scrabble or read a dictionary.
Something about syllabication and clever turns of phrase ignites my love to
write. I know my author voice is not the norm, and I think that’s because I’m
very interested in how the words play together on the page.
What comes first when inspiration
strikes; The characters, the plot, or the ending?
Inspiration strikes for me with a
particular scene and I build the plot and story around it. Sometimes it’s only
a conversation, so to answer your question, I would have to choose characters
since they are in every part of what I do.
Do other authors inspire you, if yes,
who and why?
Sherry Thomas writes the most
emotional, heart twisting historical romances I’ve ever read. Lisa Kleypas has
inspired me to put humor into my stories. Certain works from Julia Quinn,
Loretta Chase and Eloisa James are also favorites.
What was it like when you first
submitted your manuscript?
Let me lean on my huge
pile of rejections while I answer this question. Lol! I have a lot of rejections,
but oddly, about 80% of them were near misses, always encouraging and providing
positive feedback about my writing. I knew I was close…but how long “close”
took was another story altogether.
What is your biggest “Author Dream*?
Well, the new historical romance
series that began two weeks ago is connected by the charms on a bracelet. I can
totally see that as a mini-series on television. I wouldn’t say “no” to that!
Of course, that would drive my book up the charts to New York Times Bestseller.
It’s all connected…these wild dreams of mine.
How do you celebrate Publication
day?
Sadly, it’s rather an
ordinary day. There’s so much to do…not too much time for celebration. I think
I need to change that in the future.
What is it like to hold your paperback/ebook
reader in your hand and see the words you wrote available for millions to
read?
I’m so very guilty of not
taking time to relish in my success and “smell the roses”. The first time my
work popped up on my Kindle I stared at it a long time. It was a goal long
fought for and finally won! A surreal moment!!
What was the last book you read, and
what did you enjoy most about it?
I am reading Julie AnneLong’s A Love Like No Other and enjoying it. Her PennyRoyal Green series is
about 15 books long, so this is #3 and I have many more in the series to look
forward too. I think knowing that I’ll be with these characters for a long time
makes it most enjoyable for me.
What would your dreamiest book hero
hunk be like?
My hero hunk must be
tall, with dark hair, dark eyes, a good build, and longer hair. My most recent
book, Defying The Earl, nailed my description perfectly.
What can we look forward to in your
*new* book out later this year?
My Regency Charms series
just launched with book 1 releasing May 5th. The next 3 books are
already up for pre-sale. (No pressure there!) Book 2 comes out in August and is
titled Undone By His Kiss. I feel it’s one of my best romances yet and I’m
totally in love with the hero.
Are any of your characters based on
you? Or someone you know?
I suppose all of my characters
possess a little of my personality, but my heroes are all inspired by
celebrities who catch my eye. Jared Leto, Gabriel Aubry, Orlando Bloom, and
Colin Farrell have all provided me with inspiration.
Before we finish up, can you share
where you love for the fictional pages first came from? Perhaps a memory from
childhood?
I was an avid reader
since age 3 and always in trouble because I wouldn’t put the book down and come
to the table for dinner, or get in the bath, or go outside and play. I
therefore learned to take my book with me everywhere and just do as I was told,
reading in secret. It became second nature because I still take a book
everywhere.
I can't believe this is the end of
the interview (sob!) I've had such a great time talking with you I'd love to
invite you back to talk more your books in the future.
Thank you so much for having me for a
chat. I really enjoyed this interview!
From all my readers
here and myself, we wish you the very best success with your books, and can't
wait to see them listed as a Bestseller!
Make sure that you check out her amazing historical romances by searching on Amazon for them. I'm off to find that Hunk of an Earl we heard about in Defying the Earl... I love a dark, tall and well built guy. Mmmmm lol.
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